78.6%
Vauxhall Viva
Vauxhall Viva MOT pass rate and common problems
The Vauxhall Viva passed 78.6% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 6.3 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Viva compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
65.8%
Vauxhall average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Viva runs 12.9 points ahead of the Vauxhall average. It is 3rd of the 20 Vauxhall models in the data. The average Viva arrived at its test 8.4 years old with 42,141 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Viva MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Vauxhall Viva cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 86.9% of MOT tests. For cars aged 6 to 10 years that fell to 78%, a drop of 8.9 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 2,661 | 86.9% | 14.6 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 35,429 | 78% | 5.7 pts above |
| 11 years and over (small sample) | 63 | 88.9% | 16.6 pts above |
That is a typical decline as cars age. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Viva failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Vauxhall Viva cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Tyres and visibility together account for 48.1% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Viva MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Vauxhall Viva cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 55.2% of everything testers recorded against failed Vauxhall Viva cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Viva
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Tyres
Recorded most often: tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, condition has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure, condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords and condition has ply or cords exposed. 30.2% of failure items.
2
Visibility
Recorded most often: wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively and washers provides insufficient washer liquid. 13.9% of failure items.
3
Suspension
Recorded most often: linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 5.1% of failure items.
4
Noise, emissions and leaks
Recorded most often: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction. 3.2% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Viva has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Vauxhall Viva buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Vauxhall Viva MOT FAQs
What is the Vauxhall Viva MOT pass rate?
78.6% of Vauxhall Viva cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 38,153 tests. That is 6.3 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 218th of 575 models.
What does a Vauxhall Viva most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Vauxhall Viva cars failing their 2025 MOT was tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative, on 16% of failure items. Next were wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (10.5%) and linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.1%).
Which area causes the most Vauxhall Viva MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was tyres at 31.9%, followed by visibility at 16.3%.
Do older Vauxhall Viva cars fail their MOT more often?
Vauxhall Viva cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 86.9% of MOT tests in 2025, against 78% for cars aged 6 to 10 years.
Does this mean every Vauxhall Viva has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Vauxhall Viva that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Vauxhall Viva's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.